Wlodawa Synagogue
Encyclopedia
The Włodawa Synagogue in Włodawa, Poland
is an architectural complex consisting of two historic synagogues and a Jewish administrative building, now preserved as a museum. The complex includes the Włodawa Great Synagogue of 1764–74, the late 18th century Small Synagogue, and the 1928 community building. It is "one of the best-preserved" synagogues in Poland.
In 1901 Jewish immigrants from Włodawa established a Wlodowa Synagogue in London
, England (see below).
structure, with a ground floor entrance and a high-ceilinged, second-story sanctuary. The flanking wings give the building a general configuration similar to the palaces and great manor houses of the Polish nobility of the era. The wings held women’s prayer-rooms. Also unusual is the three-tiered copper roof that takes the general form of the unique wooden synagogues of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth
. The first official inventory of important buildings in Poland, A General View of the Nature of Ancient Monuments in the Kingdom of Poland, led by Kazimierz Stronczynski in 1844–55, describes the Great Synagogue of Włodawa as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings.
The original one-story building was expanded in the nineteenth century. The present building is cross-vaulted with lunettes and nine fields. It is supported by four weight-bearing columns, which surround but do not form part of the bimah
. The bimah is a 1936 reproduction of the bimah lost in a fire in 1934. The masonry columns survived the fire.
The walls and ceilings are molded and painted. Interestingly, they bear both Jewish and Polish motifs. One of the ceiling rosette
paintings features the stork, a highly popular symbol of Poland, and the central of the nine ceiling rosettes, in the place of honor over the bimah
, is an eagle, which is both a symbol of both Poland and Israel.
At the top of the ark, two Griffin
s support window openings in the form of symbolic tablets of the Covenant, above this is a "Crown of the Torah," shaped like a royal crown. The carving of the tablets as a window through which the light of the Torah shines is unusual. Below it is another window, a carved image of a Menorah with carved, scrolling openwork surmounted by a quotation from Psalm 5:8: "And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple." This is surrounded by symbolic references to the ancient Temple service. At the right, priestly hands are carved in a gesture of blessing, on the left there is a basket of fruit representing the Temple offerings. At the first floor level, on both sides of the recess for the scrolls, there are carved musical instruments of which the congregation was particularly proud. These allude to the service of the Levites in the Temple and the quotation from Psalm 150:3-4-5: "Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals..." The instruments depicted, however, are not ancient in form, but, rather, a distinctly eighteenth-century European style drum, violin, and horn alongside a shofar
. There are four Solomonic columns, in the tortile shape believed to have been used in the Temple of Solomon. On the frieze there is a sign in the middle of which the date the new Aron ha-kodesh was built is encrypted: 5696 according to the Jewish calendar, 1936.
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, both synagogues were used as German military storehouses. They became museums in 1983, and restoration work continued through till 1998.
In the post-World War II
era the small synagogue was used as a garage. In the 1980s it stood as a roofless ruin.
, an administrative building of the Wlodawa Jewish community, built in 1927 or 28. It was continuous use, but was renovated after 1979 and is now the administrative building of the museum. All three buildings hold exhibition rooms that have been used to display both Jewish and non-Jewish exhibits.
fair of 1531. By 1623 Włodawa had a representative in the Council of the Four Lands. The community's prosperity was due to the granting of a city charter in 1534. For much of the early modern period, a time when the Polish-speaking community of the region was predominately engaged in agriculture, Jews appear to have composed much of the population of the city, engaged in all forms of craft production and trade. The community was devastated by the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648, but afterwards was re-established and rebuilt. By 1765 the town had 630 Jews. In 1693, the town had 197 dwellings, 89 of which were owned by Jewish families. The census of 1773 records Jewish physicians, butchers, millers, barbers, goldsmiths, tailors, furriers, merchants, and carters, in addition to one Jew in each of the trades of coppersmith, cobbler, glazier, chandler, and wheelwright. There were also 8 Jewish schoolmasters, 2 educators, a cantor, a bass player and a cymbal player. There were 2,236 Jews in 1827 and 6,706 in 1907.
In the late nineteenth century Włodawa had a Jewish-owned steam-powered flour mill, tannery and soap factory. Of the 184 stores in the town, 177 were owned by Jews. Wlodawa's first Zionist organization was formed in 1898, the town also had Bund, Agudath Israel
and Poalei Zion organizations. There was a Beis Yaakov school for girls.
The synagogue complex is unusual not only because it escaped destruction by the Nazi occupiers of Poland, and because the entire suite of Jewish communal buildings is intact, but also because, unlike many other former synagogues in Poland that were destroyed, left to decay, or turned to other uses in the Communist era, it was meticulously restored.
No Jews are known to be living in the town today.
, London, England. The congregation was established in 1901 by Jews from Włodawa, Poland, and by London Jewish cabinetmakers. The congregation therefore had two names, Wlodowa Synagogue and The United Workingmen's Synagogue. Immigrant synagogues were frequently named after towns of immigrant origin, much as immigrant parishes were frequently named after the patron saint of towns of the immigrants' origin. The congregation's first building was in Spital Square, and the 1910 move to Cheshire Street
was concurrent with a merger with the Hare Street Synagogue. Because of the large number of cabinetmakers in the congregation, the interior woodwork of the simple, three-story brick building was said to be particularly beautiful. The synagogue closed in 1987.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
is an architectural complex consisting of two historic synagogues and a Jewish administrative building, now preserved as a museum. The complex includes the Włodawa Great Synagogue of 1764–74, the late 18th century Small Synagogue, and the 1928 community building. It is "one of the best-preserved" synagogues in Poland.
In 1901 Jewish immigrants from Włodawa established a Wlodowa Synagogue in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England (see below).
Włodawa Great Synagogue
The Great Synagogue (1764–74) was built to replace a wooden synagogue of 1684. It is a BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
structure, with a ground floor entrance and a high-ceilinged, second-story sanctuary. The flanking wings give the building a general configuration similar to the palaces and great manor houses of the Polish nobility of the era. The wings held women’s prayer-rooms. Also unusual is the three-tiered copper roof that takes the general form of the unique wooden synagogues of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. The first official inventory of important buildings in Poland, A General View of the Nature of Ancient Monuments in the Kingdom of Poland, led by Kazimierz Stronczynski in 1844–55, describes the Great Synagogue of Włodawa as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings.
The original one-story building was expanded in the nineteenth century. The present building is cross-vaulted with lunettes and nine fields. It is supported by four weight-bearing columns, which surround but do not form part of the bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
. The bimah is a 1936 reproduction of the bimah lost in a fire in 1934. The masonry columns survived the fire.
The walls and ceilings are molded and painted. Interestingly, they bear both Jewish and Polish motifs. One of the ceiling rosette
Rosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
paintings features the stork, a highly popular symbol of Poland, and the central of the nine ceiling rosettes, in the place of honor over the bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
, is an eagle, which is both a symbol of both Poland and Israel.
Torah Ark
The Torah Ark is particularly fine. It is a 2004 restoration of the Torah Ark built in 1936, itself reproducing from old photographs the wooden Torah Ark lost to fire in 1934. It is noted for the fine carvings, including carvings of musical instruments, that commemorate the Temple of Solomon. The Ark is three stories high, with windows on the second and third stories. Elaborate carved arks of this kind were not unusual in Polish synagogues; the Wlodawa Ark was regarded as a particularly fine example, but it is unusual mostly because it survives.At the top of the ark, two Griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s support window openings in the form of symbolic tablets of the Covenant, above this is a "Crown of the Torah," shaped like a royal crown. The carving of the tablets as a window through which the light of the Torah shines is unusual. Below it is another window, a carved image of a Menorah with carved, scrolling openwork surmounted by a quotation from Psalm 5:8: "And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple." This is surrounded by symbolic references to the ancient Temple service. At the right, priestly hands are carved in a gesture of blessing, on the left there is a basket of fruit representing the Temple offerings. At the first floor level, on both sides of the recess for the scrolls, there are carved musical instruments of which the congregation was particularly proud. These allude to the service of the Levites in the Temple and the quotation from Psalm 150:3-4-5: "Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals..." The instruments depicted, however, are not ancient in form, but, rather, a distinctly eighteenth-century European style drum, violin, and horn alongside a shofar
Shofar
A shofar is a horn, traditionally that of a ram, used for Jewish religious purposes. Shofar-blowing is incorporated in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.Shofar come in a variety of sizes.- Bible and rabbinic literature :...
. There are four Solomonic columns, in the tortile shape believed to have been used in the Temple of Solomon. On the frieze there is a sign in the middle of which the date the new Aron ha-kodesh was built is encrypted: 5696 according to the Jewish calendar, 1936.
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, both synagogues were used as German military storehouses. They became museums in 1983, and restoration work continued through till 1998.
Small synagogue
The Small synagogue or Beit Medrash of 1782–86 is a well-built, -story, hip-roofed building. It has a women's prayer room above the vestibule. The windows were replaced and some alterations made after the devastation of the First World War. The building bears a plaque commemorating these repairs. The elaborate, polychrome folk paintings on the synagogue walls are reproduced from surviving plaster fragments and old photographs.In the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era the small synagogue was used as a garage. In the 1980s it stood as a roofless ruin.
Kahal office building
The third building in the complex is the KahalKahal
Kahal is a moshav in the Galilee near Highway 85 in northern Israel. The moshav is a combined agricultural community. It lies at the border of the Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee, north of Lake Kinneret and just northwest of Tabgha. It belongs to the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council and was...
, an administrative building of the Wlodawa Jewish community, built in 1927 or 28. It was continuous use, but was renovated after 1979 and is now the administrative building of the museum. All three buildings hold exhibition rooms that have been used to display both Jewish and non-Jewish exhibits.
History of the Jewish community of Włodawa
The existence of a Jewish community in Włodawa is first recorded in connection with the LublinLublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
fair of 1531. By 1623 Włodawa had a representative in the Council of the Four Lands. The community's prosperity was due to the granting of a city charter in 1534. For much of the early modern period, a time when the Polish-speaking community of the region was predominately engaged in agriculture, Jews appear to have composed much of the population of the city, engaged in all forms of craft production and trade. The community was devastated by the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648, but afterwards was re-established and rebuilt. By 1765 the town had 630 Jews. In 1693, the town had 197 dwellings, 89 of which were owned by Jewish families. The census of 1773 records Jewish physicians, butchers, millers, barbers, goldsmiths, tailors, furriers, merchants, and carters, in addition to one Jew in each of the trades of coppersmith, cobbler, glazier, chandler, and wheelwright. There were also 8 Jewish schoolmasters, 2 educators, a cantor, a bass player and a cymbal player. There were 2,236 Jews in 1827 and 6,706 in 1907.
In the late nineteenth century Włodawa had a Jewish-owned steam-powered flour mill, tannery and soap factory. Of the 184 stores in the town, 177 were owned by Jews. Wlodawa's first Zionist organization was formed in 1898, the town also had Bund, Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
and Poalei Zion organizations. There was a Beis Yaakov school for girls.
The synagogue complex is unusual not only because it escaped destruction by the Nazi occupiers of Poland, and because the entire suite of Jewish communal buildings is intact, but also because, unlike many other former synagogues in Poland that were destroyed, left to decay, or turned to other uses in the Communist era, it was meticulously restored.
No Jews are known to be living in the town today.
Wlodowa Synagogue (London)
The Wlodowa Synagogue was a synagogue in Bethnal GreenBethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
, London, England. The congregation was established in 1901 by Jews from Włodawa, Poland, and by London Jewish cabinetmakers. The congregation therefore had two names, Wlodowa Synagogue and The United Workingmen's Synagogue. Immigrant synagogues were frequently named after towns of immigrant origin, much as immigrant parishes were frequently named after the patron saint of towns of the immigrants' origin. The congregation's first building was in Spital Square, and the 1910 move to Cheshire Street
Cheshire Street
Cheshire Street is a street in east London linking Brick Lane with Bethnal Green and Whitechapel.It has had various names in its history, such as Hare Street, and today forms part of Brick Lane Market on Sundays...
was concurrent with a merger with the Hare Street Synagogue. Because of the large number of cabinetmakers in the congregation, the interior woodwork of the simple, three-story brick building was said to be particularly beautiful. The synagogue closed in 1987.
External links
- The United Workmen's and Wlodowa Synagogue on Jewish Communities and Records - UK (hosted by jewishgen.org).